matched by the lack of spousal congeniality occasioned by
Lincoln’s melancholy and episodes of neurasthenia. It is to say that its
bad moments have been vastly exaggerated.
Remember this marriage was bound together by three strong
bonds—sex, parenting and politics, and keep in mind that story, corroborated
by several observers, that when Lincoln learned he had won the Republican
nomination and later the Presidency, he hurried home, saying as he turned
the corner, “Mary, Mary we are elected.” It is as good a testament to the
profound respect and affinity the Lincolns had for each other as any I
can think of.
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